Agreement within reach

OK – I admit, I thought things would be resolved by the end of June. But I’m glad that things appear to be headed toward a proper conclusion here a few weeks later. One of the things I am pleased to read about (here) is that there will be a new rookie wage system. While I haven’t bothered to learn enough about the details of this whole lockout thing to take a definitive side, one thing I really agree with the owners on is the need to fix the rookie wage system. When Sam Bradford signed that ridiculous guaranteed contract last year without having played a down (like many rookies have in the last couple years), it ticked me off. And I know it ticked off lots of the veteran guys who have played before. Putting some kind of system in place to curb that ridiculousness is a good idea – so I’m glad that appears to have happened.

I am getting ready for football here now. I’ve been able to survive the lull in the action by following golf like I usually do – but it’s always around British Open time that I start remembering that football season is right around the corner. The best thing about this whole lockout thing – I think it’s given our guys a chance to really relax and heal their bodies. I’m thinking we come into the year more refreshed than most defending Super Bowl Champs.

So now that it looks like THERE WILL BE A SEASON, ahem. What will be the point of the first two pre-season games. Usually it’s to decide which draftees and free agent pick-ups have a chance a making the team. But his year, no one in either of those two catagories has even had a play book to study. No mini-camps, etc. So how much of the playbook and play-calling “lingo” are these guys going to pick up in two weeks? Not enough to function well in games I suspect.